Am I wasting my RAM?

TomX · 11-14-2005, 12:08 PM

Hey,

I have 1GB RAM and am only using 107MB of 1011MB available.

I am running:
XFCE4
Mozilla Firefox
IRSSI

Now, using XFCE is only a temporary thing (though I do think it's great) so when I start using KDE again I realise it will go up again.

However, with all this RAM free is there anything more productive I could be doing with it? Caching? I don't know.

Thanks
Tom

sundialsvcs · 11-14-2005, 12:51 PM

Over time, you should see that Linux is using all that RAM, probably for "buffer" memory which means a disk-cache. If nothing's going on yet, then obviously the RAM might not yet be filled.

Be sure also that you are looking at physical memory use, of the entire system, not the virtual memory use of a single process.

foo_bar_foo · 11-14-2005, 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by TomX
.

However, with all this RAM free is there anything more productive I could be doing with it?

seti at home
http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/

people with extra ram should scan the universe for extra-terestials

Tinkster · 11-14-2005, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by foo_bar_foo
seti at home
http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/

people with extra ram should scan the universe for extra-terestials

Or do something useful, like folding molecules ;)

After all: the best proof that there is intelligent life out
there is that they haven't made contact with us.

To the original poster: if desktop *only* is all you'll
ever do, and you're not going to start video or graphics
editing any time soon 1 GB is indeed overkill (caching
and buffering, thus performance gains aside).

Cheers,
Tink

bigrigdriver · 11-14-2005, 09:23 PM

If you get into graphics editing, such as Gimp, or sound editing, you will see that ram get used.

There is also the option of seting up part of that ram as you swap space, instead of a swap partition. Swap is faster that way. Google up this article: how to use ram as swap.

cs-cam · 11-15-2005, 03:28 AM

How on Earth could you benifit from using RAM as swap?

syg00 · 11-15-2005, 04:19 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Tinkster
Or do something useful, like folding molecules

Or something *really* useful - like figuring out how to combat interference bids when both pairs are bidding Precision.

As for the "swap in ram" issue - I suspect this will become one of those "recurring acorns".

cs-cam · 11-15-2005, 04:38 AM

I've never heard of swap in RAM before but it just seems like such a useless idea I couldn't help but comment. Guess I haven't been around long enough to hear it done to death

alienDog · 11-15-2005, 11:30 AM

Swap is used to expand the amount of available memory beyond the physical size or RAM, so swap in RAM is a mindless idea

It's like making a piece of cloth longer by cutting off a some from one end and sewing it to the other end.

foo_bar_foo · 11-15-2005, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by alienDog
Swap is used to expand the amount of available memory beyond the physical size or RAM, so swap in RAM is a mindless idea It's like making a piece of cloth longer by cutting off a some from one end and sewing it to the other end.

i guess thats why the aliens don't make contact
might as well fold molecules

TomX · 11-16-2005, 08:10 AM

or find large primes.